They are the pictures which are sure to spark a surge of nostalgia for the days when football fans stood together.

When supporters in the stands at Villa, Blues, Wolves and the Baggies breathed in the aroma of beer, hot dogs and cigarette smoke – and enjoyed those awkward group hugs with total strangers when their team took the lead.

The seemingly spontaneous chants, the self-deprecating and rude wit, the feeling of camaraderie...

All were facets of life on the terraces of our football grounds before compulsory seating took over in the wake of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 – courtesy of Lord Justice Taylor’s report into the tragedy.

Many fans today have bemoaned the perceived lack of atmosphere, the sterility and uniformity of design of our modern stadia, and the high admission prices imposed as our clubs dealt with the necessarily reduced capacity of their all-seater grounds.

But there is now a growing movement for a law change, to reintroduce standing areas around our League pitches. Not the same as old-fashioned terracing, but something more communal than seats all the same.

FA Cup 1905. Newcastle United vs Aston Villa. This was the scene at Crystal Palace when Newcastle United first played in the F.A. Cup Final. Note the spectators perched on trees and rooftops. Part of the vast crowd of 101,117 that watched United’s first FA Cup final in 1905.

A spokesman for fans’ advocacy group the Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF) said: “Standing did not kill any of the 96 who lost their lives on that horrible day at Hillsborough.

‘‘The cause of their deaths was appalling policing, bad design, neglected maintenance, fencing and crowd management failings. Hillsborough was a stadium without a valid safety certificate.

“Taylor believed all fans would get used to sitting and that standing would fade away as fans adapted. He believed they would end up preferring to sit - Taylor was wrong.”

The FSF is campaigning to have ‘virtually indestructible’ rail seats installed at our top grounds, as used in the German Bundesliga.

These are flip-up seats which are UEFA-compliant and can accommodate seated supporters during designated all-seater matches, or be stowed away to create a standing area at other times.

Aston Villa enthusiastically embraced the campaign early on, along with Peterborough United, and they have been followed by Brentford, Bristol City, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Derby County, Doncaster Rovers, Hull City, Watford and AFC Wimbledon.

Earlier this year, Villa chief executive Paul Faulkner earmarked an area between the Holte End and the Trinity Road stand for a trial scheme.

If the bold plan eventually goes ahead it could lead to increased capacity and reduced admission prices in the standing sections of stadia.

At a time when attendances are being hit by the recession, clubs believe there is demand for standing tickets and future consultations with supporters have been promised.

It is believed several top-flight clubs would support a debate about safe-standing and would potentially be interested in introducing similar areas at their stadiums.

Sparkbrook and Small Heath Labour MP Roger Godsiff has recently tabled Early Day Motion 573, which calls for the Government to allow small trials of safe standing areas.

The FSF is calling on fans to lobby their MP to sign EDM 573. It can be done via its website www.fsf.org.uk/campaigns/safestanding